What’s New at Citi Field in 2019

Opening Day is right around the corner, and on Thursday afternoon the New York Mets hosted their annual ‘New for 2019 at Citi Field’ media event. The organization provided an exclusive look inside some of the new elements, promotions, and additions to the food menus at the stadium for the 2019 season.

50th Anniversary of the 1969 World Series Champs

One of the big things the Mets spoke on during the day was their plans for the 50th anniversary celebration weekend of the 1969 Word Series Championship. The celebration was announced a while ago, but they discussed their plans a little further on Thursday afternoon.

• Thursday, June 27: As expected, Tom Seaver will not be in attendance for the celebration due to his dementia. However, the team has announced that they plan on changing the street address for Citi Field to 41 Seaver Way in a June 27 ceremony to kick off the celebration weekend.
• Friday, June 28: The celebration will then continue throughout the weekend, as all fans in attendance on Friday night against the Atlanta Braves will take home a 1969 Replica Jersey.
• Saturday, June 29: Saturday afternoon, fans will take a trip down memory lane. For the matinee against the Braves, in-game programming and prizes will be themed around the ’69 Mets. The scoreboard will also be reflective of the style of the scoreboard in ’69 at Shea Stadium. On top of that, some of the members of the ’69 Championship team will reunite on the field at Citi Field for a special pregame ceremony. Mets fans can expect to see legends including Cleon Jones, Jerry Koosman, Jerry Grote, and Ron Swoboda many amongst others. And in addition to that, the first 15,000 fans in attendance will receive a 1969 Championship pennant.
• Sunday, June 30: The celebrations will be concluded on Sunday afternoon, as the first 15,000 fans in attendance for the June 30 game will take home a 1969 Replica World Series Ring.

Additions to the Mets Hall of Fame and Museum

The Mets also announced that they recently updated the 1969 display case in the Hall of Fame and Museum. This was one of the coolest parts of the afternoon. The display now features some really cool artifacts from that season, including:

• 1968 Christmas Card from Casey Stengel to Joe Pignatano predicting a great season in 1969
• Ron Swoboda’s Game-Used Glove from “the catch” in Game Four of the Word Series
• Gil Hodges’ manager contract
• 1969 World Series MVP Donn Clendenon game-used bat

This case will be on display and open to all fans all season long in the Hall of Fame which is located in the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. Again, I thought this was one of the coolest parts of the afternoon, and I highly recommend checking out the new additions to the museum.

Promotions and Partnerships

We then learned about some of the promotions for the season, as well as the new partnerships and features coming to Citi Field in 2019. The Mets promotions schedule was released earlier in the offseason, but it features some pretty sweet bobbleheads including:

• Todd Frazier WWE Bobblehead (April 6)
• Jacob deGrom Cy Young Bobblehead (April 7)
• Game of Thrones/Noah Syndergaard Bobblehead (April 27)
• Star Wars Obi-Wan Robinson Canobi Bobblehead (May 25)
• SpiderMan Bobblehead (July 7)
• Mr.Met on the Moon Bobblehead (July 27)

Check out the rest of the promotional schedule here, https://www.mlb.com/mets/tickets/promotions.

The new promotions aren’t the only cool new aspects for Mets fans in 2019. The Mets and their partners have teamed up and brought some awesome features to Citi Field for this upcoming season.

• Dugout Tops: The Mets announced that the graphics on the dugout tops of both the home and away dugout at Citi Field, will be made from the names of every season ticket holder.
• Verizon Up Seats: The Mets and Verizon have partnered up, and are offering six pairs of seats behind home plate, exclusive to Verizon Up members, Verizon’s customer loyalty program. Fans will be provided with a VIP view, and free food and drinks from the First Data Club.
• ChangeUp: the Mets have partnered up with DAZN to bring “Changeup” to fans, a daily MLB series that starting on March 28 will whip around live games showcasing the big plays with instant analysis, fans can sign up for one free month at www.dzn.com/mets.
• Ford Tough Challenge: local Ford Dealers are expanding their presence at Citi Field, and they are adding a new Fan Fest attraction to the main concourse. Challengers will compete in a head-to-head fitness challenge against “the Machine.” Various athletes and trainers will take on the role throughout the season. Any fan who wins will receive a $500 gift card, and fans with the top score for the night will receive tickets to future Mets games. 
• Blue Point Brewing Company Patio: I think this is one of the pretty cool additions this season. Te patio is located above the above the “K corner” in the left field corner. This provides fans with an opportunity to relax and take in some pretty sweet views of the whole ballpark. Tickets also include food and drinks from the Porsche Grill.

Last, But Certainly Not Least, The Food!

And of course, lastly and most importantly we were able to enjoy some of the new and old food items on the menu at Citi Field this season. Some of my personal favorite additions that I tried today include:

• Emmy Squared: the new official pizza of the New York Mets.
• Dulcinea: You can never go wrong with a classic churro!
• Pizza Cupcake: Show above, one of my personal favorites from this afternoon!
• Sliders & Sinkers: along with Aramark Senior Executive Chef Patrick Schaeffer, they are bringing the dang good award-winning burger to Citi Field in 2019.

Between all of these awesome additions, and Brodie Van Wagenen’s significantly improved roster, there is certainly plenty for Mets fans to look forward to in 2019!